LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas recorded the highest daily increase in the number of deaths due to COVID-19 since early November on Monday while the number of active cases and hospitalizations went down.

The number of deaths due to COVID-19 related complications jumped by 26 to 8,982, according to the Arkansas Department of Health. This is the second day within the last week with more than 20 deaths, with the last day being Dec. 15 when 21 people died. This is also the highest one-day total for deaths since Nov. 2 when 28 deaths were recorded.

The ADH reported 434 new cases of COVID-19 in Arkansas, bringing the total cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 544,082. The number of active cases took another dive on Monday, dropping 375 cases to 7,317 cases.

There were 513 Arkansans hospitalized due to COVID-19 on Monday, a decrease of three from the previous day. Of the people hospitalized in Arkansas, 199 are in intensive care units, six fewer than Sunday. The number of people on ventilators remains unchanged at 93.

There were only 2,773 new vaccine doses reported given in the previous 24 hours, less than half the number reported the day prior.

The number of fully vaccinated people in the state climbed by 464, to 1,488,809. The number of partially vaccinated people climbed by 437 to 342,124. There were also 1,407 people who received a third dose of the vaccine, bringing that number up to 349,921.